Golf cart umbrella unit

ABSTRACT

An umbrella attachment for golf carts in which an adjustable arm is detachably secured to a frame member of the golf cart and supports an umbrella with the conventional umbrella handle clamped to the upper end of the arm.

United States Patent Inventor Ronald G. Drowns 6850 El Calegio Road, Goleta, Calif. 93017 Appl. No. 837,277 Filed June 27, 1969 Patented Aug. 31, 19 71 GOLF CART UMBRELLA UNIT 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 248/41, 248/42, 248/285, 248/314, 248/230, 287/2 Int. Cl ..A45b 17/00, B62b l/26 Field 01 Search 248/38, 40,

Primary ExaminerWilliam H. Schultz Au0rneyl(immel, Crowell & Weaver ABSTRACT: An umbrella attachment for golf carts in which an adjustable arm is detachably secured to a frame member of the golf cart and supports an umbrella with the conventional umbrella handle clamped to the upper end of the arm.

GOLF CART UMBRELLA UNIT 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to the attachment of an umbrella to a golf cart so that a golfer may be protected from the sun and inclement weather while standing or moving about on a golf course adjacent to the golf cart.

2. Description of the Prior Art The attachment of umbrellas to golf carts has been illustrated in US. Pat. Nos. 3,304,036, 3,304,035, 3,237,899, 3,148,851, and 2,822,143. In each of these patents a rather complicated clamp is used to embrace some portion of the frame or handle of the golf cart and since the frame and handle are conventionally formed of lightweight aluminum tubing, it is difficult if not impossible, to apply sufficient clamping pressure to positively support an umbrella without crushing the tubular handle or frame portion of the golf cart. With structures of the conventional prior art, one is constantly faced with the problem of tightening the clamp sufficiently to prevent rotation of the clamp on the tubular frame or handle while avoiding the clamping pressure which would collapse the tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION permit it to be folded into anonuse position out of the way' with the umbrella detached therefrom. The attachment is vertically adjustable to raise or lower the umbrella as required and has an umbrella-handle-receiving socket which accommodates umbrella handles of varying sizes while tightly clamping them therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the invention shown attached to a golf cart partially broken away for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the invention;

FIG.. 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the joint connecting the upper and lower portions of the attachment; and

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5- 5 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally an umbrella support attachment for golf carts constructed in accordance with the invention.

The attachment 10 is adapted for use with a golf cart generally indicated at C which includes an upright generally tubular frame member 11 having a handle H secured thereto by a fitting 12. A band 13 is secured to the fitting 12 and encompasses a golf bag 14 to secure it to the golf cart C. The golf cart C is of conventional design and the attachment 10 may be used with any similarly constructed golf cart C havingan upright tubular frame 1 l forming a part thereof.

The attachment 10 includes a tubular lower arm 15 having a collar 16 secured to the lower end thereof. A plurality of setscrews 17 are threaded into the collar 16 and are adapted to project through bores 18 in the lower end of the tubular arm 15. The tubular arm 15 has an internal diameter sufficient to permit a close sliding telescoping fit over the upper end of the I the lower arm 15 is pressed downwardly until it reaches the position illustrated in FIG. 2 whereupon the setscrews 17 are tightened, clamping the lower arm 15 to the tubular frame 1 1.

The attachment 10 includes an elbow generally indicated at 21 and consisting of a circular segment 22 integrally secured to the upper end of the lower arm 11 and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 23 formed in one side face thereof. A second circular segment 24 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 25 which are adapted to mesh with the teeth 23 on the segment 22. The segment 24 is rigidly secured to an upper tubular arm 26 and is detachably and adjustably secured to the segment 22 by a setscrew 27 which extends through the segment 24 and is threaded into the segment 23. The arm 26 may be adjusted angularly with respect to the arm 11 by loosening the setscrew 27 so that the teeth 25 may be disengaged from the teeth 23 and then the segment 24 is pivoted on the setscrew 27 so that the arm 26 has the desired angular relationship with respect to the arm 11 whereupon the setscrew 27 is tightened engaging the teeth 25 with the teeth 23 and securing the arm 26 in its new angularly adjusted position with respect to the arm 1 1.

A collar 28 is rigidly secured to the upper end of the tubular arm 26 and has a setscrew 29 threaded therethrough and adapted to pass through a bore 30 in the upper tubular arm 26 to adjustably clamp a vertically adjustable shaft 31 telescopically engaged in the upper tubular arm 26.

An umbrella-handled'eceiving socket 32 has a relatively small socket 33 formed on its lower end and the socket 33 is engaged over and rigidly secured to the shaft 31 as can be seen in FIG. 2. The umbrella-handle-receiving socket 32 has a barb 34 formed centrally of its lower end and has a plurality of equispaced setscrews 35 threaded therethrough adjacent the upper end thereof. An umbrella handle 36 is adapted to be positioned in the socket 32 with the barb 34 engaging the free end of the handle 36 and the three setscrews 35 clamping the handle 36 in the socket 32. By using three setscrews 35, various size handles 36 can be received and clamped in the socket 32 with the handles being maintained in aligned relation with respect to the socket 32. An umbrella generally indicated at U is secured to the handle 36 and can be raised to the position illustrated in FIG. 1 whenever desired. It should be understood that the upper arm 26 can be swung about the elbow 21 so as to adjust the umbrella U to any desired position and with the umbrella U removed, the upper arm '26 can be swung downwardly to a position generally parallel to the golf bag 14.

It should be understood that while a specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, modifications of the structure may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An umbrella attachment for a golf cart having a tubular frame, wherein the frame includes a tubular substantially vertical frame member with an open upper end, the attachment comprising:

a tubular lower arm telescopically engaged over the open upper end of the substantially vertical frame member;

a shaft having an enlarged portion secured in said lower am, and a reduced extension secured in the open end of the frame member and projecting into said frame member;

a collar assembly about the lower arm, including a series of setscrews extending through the arm to detachably engage the frame member about the area of the reduced extension;

an elbow assembly secured to the lower arm, including interengaged, toothed segments, anda changeable fastener to adjustably relate the segments together;

equispaced setscrews to clampingly engage an umbrella handle mounted in'the open socket against the barb at equidistantly spaced points thereabout 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of setscrews on the open socket comprise three setscrews. 

1. An umbrella attachment for a golf cart having a tubular frame, wherein the frame includes a tubular substantially vertical frame member with an open upper end, the attachment comprising: a tubular lower arm telescopicaLly engaged over the open upper end of the substantially vertical frame member; a shaft having an enlarged portion secured in said lower arm, and a reduced extension secured in the open end of the frame member and projecting into said frame member; a collar assembly about the lower arm, including a series of setscrews extending through the arm to detachably engage the frame member about the area of the reduced extension; an elbow assembly secured to the lower arm, including interengaged, toothed segments, and a changeable fastener to adjustably relate the segments together; a second arm secured to the elbow assembly and adapted for angular adjustment relative to the lower arm by adjustment of the segments; a socket assembly mounted on the second arm, including a vertically adjustable shaft projecting into said second arm, an open socket member having a base, the base having a small socket member thereon engaging the shaft, a projecting barb on said base, and a plurality of equispaced setscrews to clampingly engage an umbrella handle mounted in the open socket against the barb at equidistantly spaced points thereabout.
 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein: said plurality of setscrews on the open socket comprise three setscrews. 